Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, [my] spouse; Thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, With one chain of thy neck.
In chapter 4 the King describes His bride, feature by feature. Here the description turns into a confession: one look, one jewel, and His heart is gone.
The wonder is not that she loves Him. The wonder is the delight He takes in His people.
It is good for us to delight in Christ. But nothing settles the heart and fills it with adoring joy like realizing the delight that Christ finds in His people. It is no wonder that our hearts are captivated by Christ. That His heart should be captivated by His people is the wonder of the world.
Where the ESV says "captivated," the older translation these writers use says "ravished." One writer asks who did this to Him:
"You have ravished my heart;" the margin reads, "taken away." Amazing truth! The heart of Christ ravished — taken away! By what? By whom? By the attractions of a sinner saved by grace — by one He has washed in His own precious blood, and adorned with His own matchless excellence.
He gives her two names in one breath. He is not only her Bridegroom:
He now takes the place of Brother as well as Bridegroom. "My sister, my bride." What a relationship! What a happy union! He knows it well and prizes it highly, though she still knows little of it. But the main matter here is one of heart — of feeling — of the Saviour's love, not to the Jew only but to all who believe in Him.
The verse names two small things. One writer reads them as pictures: the eye shows where she is looking, and the chain shows what He gave her.
One of her eyes captivates the Lord. It is a single eye (Matthew 6:22), always turned toward Him, because you can only see another person's eye when it is turned toward you. One chain of her neck captivates His heart too. The golden chain around her neck speaks of a divine beauty that is not hers by nature. He gave it to her in grace.
What moves Him in her started in Him.
And what could the King see in the bride to captivate His heart? Nothing great, as people count greatness. It was only a glance of the eye and a chain of the neck. But that look was a look of love, and the chain was the adornment He Himself had put on her. As we would say, "We love because He first loved us." The glance of the eye speaks of the love of the heart. The chain of the neck declares that this love of the heart is the fruit of His own love.
The word "one" is hard to pin down. One writer admits that, then offers two ways to take it:
It may be hard to say what the Lord means by "one of your eyes, one chain of your neck." He may mean that He values every single grace and every spiritual ornament in the believer. Or He may mean that He delights in each believer one by one, as well as in His people together. He can never overlook the least of all His people, or fail to mark them out from others, now or in eternity. He loves us one by one, and saves and glorifies us one by one... yet it is Paul who says, "who loved me and gave Himself for me."
Commentators differ on who the King is speaking to. One reads the passage as still future, spoken over a restored Israel:
These verses are a prophecy of what Israel will be for the Lord. He will redeem her, free her from the power of the enemy, and place her in royal glory at the head of the nations.
Another writer points to the timing. He says this now, while His people are still on the road:
Here we learn that even now, while we walk the sand of the desert... He finds in the Church what delights His heart... So while He is the portion of our hearts, He finds in us the portion of His heart... Do we believe it, dear friends, that we are a joy to Him?
- His love starts it. The chain on her neck is jewellery He gave; her love is "the fruit of His own love," so the verse begins and ends in Him.
- His love names her. She is sister and bride at once. He "takes the place of Brother as well as Bridegroom" — a relationship He prizes highly, though she knows little of it yet.
- His love is captured. The margin reads "taken away": the heart of Christ carried off, and by a sinner saved by grace.
- His love notices one. One eye, one chain — He never overlooks the least of His people, and He loves us "one by one."
- His love is returned. One eye turned toward Him is all He asks. Nothing settles the heart like knowing the delight He takes in His people.
How fair is thy love, my sister, [my] spouse! How much better is thy love than wine! And the fragrance of thine ointments than all spices!
Here the Bridegroom speaks, and He is answering His bride. Earlier she told Him His love was better than wine; now He says the same of hers, only stronger — and the wonder is why.
The bride made these comparisons first, and made them about Him. Here He turns them back on her, and raises them.
The bride has already said that the Bridegroom's love is better than wine, and that His name is like ointment poured out. Now the King uses the same pictures, but with greater force, to express His delight in the love of the bride. Not only is her love better than wine, it is "much better," and the fragrance of her ointments exceeds all spices. So to the heart of Christ, His people's love is much better than every earthly joy. The graces of His people are beyond compare with anything in nature that can give delight.
Wine is the standard He measures her love against. It stands for a real joy that He will one day have in full.
Wine speaks of earthly joy. There will be a joy for the Lord on earth when He reigns as King of kings and Lord of lords. But what is more precious to His heart than all that outward glory will be the love and affection of His bride. He gave His life for His people, and the love and affection flowing from their hearts is what He most delights to see. How much are we delighting His heart in this way?
Amana, Shenir and Hermon were mountains famous for their views and their spices. His eye turns from all of them.
The views from the top of Amana, Shenir, and Hermon were matchless. These glorious fields of nature were beautiful and delightful to the eye, and these spicy mountains were fragrant with the richest scents. Yet the eye and the heart of the Bridegroom turn from all of them, to admire the loved one at His side. He sees in her what He can see nowhere else — the feelings and affections of His own heart, reflected back to Him from hers... He sees in her the blessed fruit of His own unquenchable love. He sees the anguish of His soul, and He is satisfied. (Isa. 53:11)
He does not use one title but two, and each carries its own relationship.
"You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride." He now takes the place of Brother as well as Bridegroom. "My sister, my bride." Blessed relationship! Happy union! He knows this relationship well and prizes it highly, though she still knows little of it. But the main question here is one of heart — of feelings — of the Saviour's love, not to the Jew only but to all who believe in Him.
Commentators differ on who the bride is. Some read the passage as a prophecy about Israel:
These verses begin another description by the Lord of His loved one. It is a prophecy of what Israel will be for the Lord. He will redeem her, deliver her from the power of the enemy, and place her in royal glory at the head of the nations.
The love He finds in us is small. His estimate of it is the surprise of the verse.
In Song of Solomon 1 she says, "Your love is better than wine." She knows His love, and to her it is better than everything else. But His words go further than hers. Hear what the Bridegroom says to her: "How much better is your love than wine!" (Song of Solomon 4:10). What grace in Christ to say this of such poor heartless ones as you and me! Yet this is the estimate Christ forms of any little love He now finds in our souls to Him.
He does not keep the appreciation to Himself. Telling her is part of how the love grows.
Is there not an even deeper joy to Him in noticing every little stirring of love towards Himself? He delights to inspire that love in our hearts, as the Holy Spirit shows us the attractiveness of His blessed and adorable person. For this see the Song of Solomon. See how 4:9 to 5:1 opens up the interest He takes in the love His saints have for Him! And that showing of how He values their love is well suited to produce it and to deepen it more and more, as He always longs and loves to do.
- Echo. She said His love was better than wine; He hands the words back to her with "much better" — the same figures, raised.
- Source. What He admires in her is the fruit of His own love coming back to Him; He sees the anguish of His soul and is satisfied.
- Preference. Wine stands for earthly joy, and He will have that joy when He reigns. Even so, the love of His people is dearer to Him than that glory.
- Reach. Commentators differ on who the bride is. Some read a restored Israel; others say this love is not to the Jew only but to all who believe.
- Effect. He speaks His appreciation aloud, and hearing it deepens the very love He praises.